The Spartan Kids races are obstacle-course events. They are held across the United States to promote kids fitness. In March I took part in a Spartan Kids race in Conyers, Georgia. The experience was one of a lifetime. When you run that race, and when you finish it, it is one of the greatest feelings ever, especially if you have never done it before.

COURTESY PIPLANI FAMILY

Abhinav goes under the wire during the Spartan Kids race.

The one-mile obstacle course, for kids ages 9 to 13, has four stages. The first one is the running phase, where kids run up and down a steep hill, for about a quarter-mile. Second, comes the mud hill and water, where kids climb a mud hill, and then swim to the next hill in muddy water. This happens three times. Next are the hurdles. For this part kids have to jump, climb and crawl to get through these obstacles. Finally kids climb a net and then jump down. Racers then have to repeat the same course one more time.

The best part of the race was diving into the muddy water and realizing how cold the water was! My least favorite part was running the course the second time, because after I came out of the muddy water, my shoes were considerably heavier. This made it much harder to run. I think that just running the second time was what made the race so difficult, because after you ran another quarter-mile, you had to do all the obstacles again.

The race was extremely crowded. This made me realize that this race is extremely popular. I think that this race is becoming more and more popular because when one person goes, and they love the experience, they tell their friends, and when their friends like it, they tell their friends, and the cycle keeps repeating. The Spartan Race is a great experience for anyone from age 4 through adult. Spartan’s slogan is, “You’ll know at the finish line.” I couldn’t have heard anything more true in my life!

For more on Spartan Kids, click here to read my Q&A with Joe Evans of the Kids Fit Foundation. He talks about the goals of Spartan Kids obstacle races and his role in creating them.